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While this area of the web is also used by those conscious of the privacy rights of ordinary citizens and people such as whistleblowers, the darknet also harbors the seedier and sometimes outright illegal elements of society.

A recent study by RAND Europe revealed the extent to which illegal drugs are peddled online on the so-called darknet. While the United States is perhaps unsurprisingly at the top of this particular list, with 890 identified vendors, the United Kingdom is in second place by a considerable margin to its European counterparts. With 338 vendors and a monthly turnover of approximately 2.3 million dollars, the UK would seem to be a hub for the online trade of illicit drugs.

This chart shows where the most online vendors of illegal drugs are based and what their monthly revenue is.

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